What is a Medical Home?  

At Carolina Pediatrics we are committed to providing our patients with the very best evidence based medicine for their children.   We strive to be your "Medical Home" and are accredited through the NCQA as "Patient Centered Medical Home", or PCMH.

A Patient Centered Medical Home is how health care is delivered to patients.  The medical home team at Carolina Pediatrics manages care and services for you- acting ast the "hub of your health care".  Examples of this include managing referrals to other providers, radiology and diagnostic tests.  PCMH puts the patient, at the center of the health care system and provides primary care that is Accessible, Continuous, Evidence Based, Comprehensive, Family-Centered, Coordinated and Compassionate.

Patients who are identified for Care Management, will be assigned the status "Under care of team."  Your Care Team includes our R.N. Triage Nurse who is avaialable to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You will also be assinged a Care Coordinator who works with your assigned PCP provider to ensure your Care Plan remains current, referrals are coordinated and followed up on and all documentation related to your current care is avaialble to you via the patient portal. 

Provision of an Advanced Care Team: Your care team at Carolina Pediatrics has been developed to ensure that as your Primary Care Provider the treatment sought inside and outside of the practice is coordinated, including but not limited to timely referrals to specialists and/or diagnostic facilities., to provide communication with you and with the outside provider by following up to ensure communication from the provider post visit/diagnostic.  Other team members are in place to ensure that the needed documentation within the medical home chart is maintained.  This is done both electronically and through manual input into your electronic medical record so you have a single source for your childs most current medical information.   Additionally, the team provides a clinical liason (Triage Nurse) to dispense advice and direct care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and to create access to the Physician on call when needed.

• Your current team:
  • Referral Care Coordinator - Ladonna, M.A.
  • Documentation Care Coordinator - Rene' - M.A.
  • Diagnostic Test Care Coordinator - Tacey, RN and Lauren, MA
  • Triage Nurse(s) - Debbie RN, Chris LPN, Tacey RN, Jenna RN, Amber RN, Erin RN, Denise LPN

Medical Home Responsibilities

Our Responsibilities to You:

•To listen to your questions and concerns and to explain disease, treatment, and results in an easy to understand way.

•To coordinate your overall care across the complex healthcare system, sending you to trusted specialist if necessary and following up on the healthcare services you receive

Co-Managment Agreements:  When your primary care provider feels the patient requires specialty treatment outside the practice the Referral Coordinator will schedule the patient to be seen

• This referral will be tracked accordingly. Should it be determined that the patient may require ongoing treatment by the referral provider a co-management agreement may be used
• This document clearly outlines the rules and responsibilities of each provider involved in the care of the assigned patient.
• A copy of the agreement signed by all parties will be scanned and made a part of the patients chart
• Currently Carolina Pediatrics has co-management agreements in place with several specialty providers in the community including: mental health, allergists, ear nose and throat, dermatology, pulmonology, PT, OT as well as another pediatric practice with whom we share after hours call support as follows: 
  Seaside Pediatrics 1606 Wellington Ave, Wilmington 910-452-1999,
  Karen Kirk, PhD  2460 Delaney Ave.,Wilmington  910-202-9113,
  Allergy Partners 2321 Delaney Ave., Wilmington 910-463-1661

•To provide you with same day appointments whenever possible.

•To provide instructions on how to access the care you need when the office is not open and to be available to you after-hours.                                                                      

 •To provide clear instructions about your treatment goals and future plans for every visit.

 •To provide access to our practice before, during and after business hours by giving you access to a patient portal which provides you access to your childs medical records and a message center for non-emergent questions.

 •Additionally, by offering after hours phone support (7 days a week / 24 hours a day) for those who chose not to use the computer. 

Your Responsibilities to your Medical Home:

•To ask questions and be active in your care.

•To provide your health history, and other important information, including any changes in your health.

•To call our office first with your health concerns unless it is an emergency.

•To inform us whenever you utilize any other health system such as an urgent care, the emergency room or a self referral to a specialist.

•To have a clear understanding about your treatment goals and future health goals.

Opportunity to Provide Feedback to us (Patient Survey):

After each and every visit to our office(s) a patient survey will be delivered to your email.  Our goal is to gather feedback from you, our patient, on how we can continue to improve on the patient experience whether it be for a sick or well visit.  This feedback is reviewed with all staff and decisions made using the information provided.  Please help us be the best medical home we can be by responding to the survey.